Portsmouth's Jake Sullivan picked as Biden's national security adviser

Jake Sullivan of Portsmouth has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden for the position of national security adviser, joining a group of members announced Monday to the incoming administration’s national security and foreign policy team.

Biden’s transition team stated Sullivan, 43, will be one of the youngest national security advisers “in decades.”

Sullivan has served as a senior fellow and master in public policy faculty member at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy. He is an Obama-Biden administration veteran who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration. He is known for pushing to move the country away from what the Trump administration calls an "America first" policy, saying it has left the nation isolated, calling for closer work with allies.

Sullivan, a current senior policy adviser to Biden, served as the then-vice president’s national security adviser for a time in the second half of former President Barack Obama’s administration. Sullivan also formerly served as deputy assistant to Obama, director of the policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State and as deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Sullivan tweeted about the news Monday, stating Biden "taught me what it takes to safeguard our national security at the highest levels of our government." He added, "I will do everything in my power to keep our country safe."

The Biden transition team cited Sullivan's experience for his selection.

“During his time in government, Sullivan was a lead negotiator in the initial talks that paved the way for the Iran nuclear deal and played a key role in the U.S.-brokered negotiations that led to a ceasefire in Gaza in 2012,” the team wrote in their press release. “He also played a key role in shaping the Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy at both the State Department and the White House.”

Sullivan, a Minneapolis native who received his bachelor of arts from Yale, his J.D. from Yale Law School and was a Rhodes Scholar during his tenure at Oxford, is an ad hoc senior fellow at the University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy graduate program.

Michael Ettlinger, founding director of the Carsey School of Public Policy, said Monday that Sullivan typically teaches one course in the spring semester, though he knew if Biden won the presidency, there was little to no chance Sullivan would be teaching at UNH next semester.

“I think he has the perfect set of qualifications for the job. He’s inquisitive, he’s creative, he’s calm, which you want all of that in a national security adviser,” Ettlinger said.

Amid national security concerns relative to President Donald Trump’s refusal thus far to concede the election to Biden and provide national security information access, Ettlinger said no one is more prepared to assume  the national security role than Sullivan.

“He’s an incredibly capable guy, I couldn’t imagine anyone really being better,” Ettlinger said of Sullivan. “Seriously, he legitimately wants to learn, is respectful of other people’s expertise, and he sort of processes it all and makes decisions, he doesn’t overreact to things, he’s sort of calm about it all and just works it, which should really be the (exact) job description of the national security adviser.”

In a December 2019 op-ed column published by Seacoastonline, Sullivan blasted Trump’s capabilities to ensure America’s welfare, writing, “The current occupant of the Oval Office is making us less safe, less respected, and less capable of tackling big global challenges from climate change to nuclear arms.”

In the presidential endorsement, Sullivan wrote of Biden, “And not once have I doubted that he makes each decision for the right reasons - putting country over party, national security over politics.”

Biden’s national security and foreign policy team announced Monday also includes Antony Blinken, secretary of state; Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security; Avril Haines, director of national intelligence;  Linda Thomas-Greenfield, ambassador to the United Nations; and John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate. 

“We have no time to lose when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. I need a team ready on Day One to help me reclaim America’s seat at the head of the table, rally the world to meet the biggest challenges we face, and advance our security, prosperity, and values," Biden said in a prepared statement.

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Sullivan lives in Portsmouth with his wife, Maggie Goodlander, a former senior adviser to former Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman, and, most recently, as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment and Senate trial of President Donald Trump, according to her LinkedIn page.

Ettlinger quipped with Sullivan headed back to Washington, his UNH course is now open for other faculty to take on.

“We’re pitching it to faculty who might want to teach the class as, ‘What a great stepping stone,’” he said.